Running
by swensualpizza
Summary: Swan Queen One-shot. Emma can't take the stress of staying in the closet, so she does what she always does when things get hard: she runs.


Emma ran.

Again.

Just like she always did when things got tough.

What had she been thinking? What on earth had been going to Emma's mind when she had sent Regina that text? "Hey. Wanna go hang at the Rabbit Hole?"

Of course Regina would think it was a date. Why would she say yes anyway? They weren't even friends. Had she been misinterpreting the loads of mixed signals and sexual tension Regina had been sending her way?

Emma groaned, honked the horn of her rickety yellow bug, and blinked, another large tear escaping her eyes. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she just be normal?

About five minutes after Emma had sent the text, Ruby (Emma's best friend in Storybrooke next to Mary Margret, also the best friend of the mayor) texted. "Em? What's up? Regina said you texted? ... Is it a date?"

It was then that Emma had completely lost it. "Oh my god, why? Did she think it was a date?"

"No, she said, "She said she'd tell me if she thought it was. Did you tell her that you're gay?"

Panic had pulsed through Emma's body, weighing down her heart and making it nearly impossible to breathe.

"No, Rubes. I didn't tell anyone but you."

"She's catching on."

Emma's eyes had grown wide and her cheeks had burned red... Regina knew she had a crush on her. Did she know how big it was? Did she know how long it had lasted? Since the night she came to Storybrooke?

"I'm leaving."

And that was when Emma had bolted. She couldn't stand to talk to Regina, or to anyone after this. They knew. They all knew.

Emma could imagine Regina standing there, a look of smug satisfaction on her face as she criticized her, judged her even. She couldn't stand that.

Ruby had texted her about ten times since she got car, which was surprising because it only took about fifteen minutes to get to the town line. Emma didn't even bother to pick up her phone, She was getting the heck out of here and no one would stop her.

Just as her foot was on the gas pedal, a familiar black Mercedes swerved in front of her vehicle, cutting Emma off. "Damn it," Emma mumbled, then proceeding to get out of her car and run towards the town line. She was so close, and nothing was going to stop her.

"Emma, wait!"

... Except for maybe the raspy, tear-filled, desperate voice of the mayor behind her. _Damn it._

Emma paused and spun around to see Regina's face, her eyes and the tip of her nose reddened, her cheeks pale and tear-stained, her eyes lonely and afraid. "Why are you leaving?"

How was Emma going to explain this to her?

 _Hey, Regina. I might be in love with you and the fact that you might already know scares me shitless._

 _Hey, Regina. I've had a huge crush on you since the beginning of time and I could never admit to you or to anyone else and can't even look at you in the eyes ever again._

 _Hey, Regina. I might just want to marry you a little bit._

 _Fuck._

"I don't know."

"What do you mean?" Regina asked, her voice cold and giving nothing away. She sniffled, causing Emma's heart to momentarily catch. _Why had Regina been crying? Did something happen?_

"I don't know Regina, I... I can't explain it to you."

"Do you have to go?" There it was again. That look that Emma had pulled out of the older woman only a few times before. A look of understanding, a look of care. A look of hurt, of agony, of some sort of emotion mirroring love.

"Does anyone really even want me to stay?" Emma countered, hoping the woman would say yes, Regina would miss her, but knowing that she wouldn't. Regina wouldn't miss her.

"Henry would. You're his mother."

"You're his mother."

 _"We're_ his mothers. I never thought I would say this but he needs you to stay in his life."

"No, he doesn't," Emma said, smiling bitterly, "He doesn't need a mother like me. He needs someone like you, someone normal, someone dependable."

"He'll always have me, Emma. He needs you."

"Regina, don't fight this," Emma ordered, "You know this is what you want. You've always wanted me to leave."

"That's not true."

"You tried to poison me!"

"I'm sorry," Regina breathed, her voice shaky and raspy, "I'm sorry." True regret flashed through Regina's eyes, filling them to the brim and then forcing a diamond tear to streak down Regina's face. Regina quickly wiped the diamond away before composing herself and stating, "I want to go to the Rabbit Hole with you. You can pick me up in an hour, or if you don't show up then I understand your decision."

With that, Regina turned around, stepped into her car, shut the door, and headed back to her mansion, leaving Emma alone with her thoughts and the harsh wind blowing across her wet face.

Emma sniffed and sat down a few inches from the town line, resting her chin in her hands. What should she do? She knew she should stay for Henry. She knew Regina wanted her to stay... For Henry. Was she really brave enough to face everyone after all of this?

 _Do you have to go? We're his mothers. He needs you. I'm sorry._

The words played over and over in Emma's mind, like and over-played record and yet somehow they never got old. I'm sorry.

Emma sat, doing her best to clear her mind as she shivered in the wind. Was she really ready to let them all go? Because of this? Was she willing to let her son go? To let Regina go?

Emma groaned. Why did everything have to hurt so bad? Why were there so many questions?

Three hours later, Emma stood up. She sniffed, wiped away her tears, and got into her rickety little yellow bug. She backed up and turned around, and drove back into Storybrooke.

It was about 1:30am by the time Emma pulled her car up in front of Regina's house with two bottles of wine and some scotch, all that she could afford. She had wanted to get some of the hard apple cider, but she realized that Regina probably already had some of that.

She was three and a half hours late, but Emma prayed that Regina would still be up and that she wouldn't be angry at Emma for showing up at her house in the wee hours of the morning.

She knocked on the door, her heart pounding in her ears as she waited for Regina to answer. This was it. This was what she had been waiting for for so long.

When Regina opened the door, Emma was blown away by her beauty. Even in her pajamas and fresh, pained tears streaming down her face, she was still so beautiful.

"Emma?" Regina asked, her voice cracking, "I thought you left."

"No, I thought I would stay a little bit longer. I'm sorry, Regina."

Regina sniffed and wiped away a few stray tears, "For what?"

"For being late. Can I come in?"

Regina hesitated for a moment before nodding and holding her door open for Emma to enter. "Just be quiet," Regina warned, "Henry is asleep and he has school tomorrow."

. . .

When Emma woke up the next morning, she woke up in the mayors bed. She groaned upon the impending headache and then rolled over to see Regina sound asleep, curled up under the blankets in her pajamas and snoring lightly.

Emma smiled, remembering the night before. They had gotten drunk, talked about everything and anything, and then they had kissed. Under the circumstances, Emma would have thought they had had sex and she just didn't remember it because she had been so drunk, but she knew that they hadn't. They had talked about their feelings, and they had both loved the kiss, but they didn't need sex that night. They just needed someone to be with.

If Emma remembered correctly, it was about five in the morning when they had finally hit the hay. The had cuddled, talked some more, and then fallen asleep. It had all been so perfect.

Emma chuckled at the loud snore that ripped through the silence of Regina's room and then she leaned down and kissed the tip of Regina's nose, causing the older woman to scrunch her face up in her sleep.

How had Emma been so ready to give all of this up just the day before? She felt as if everything had changed since then. Maybe she and Regina weren't officially a couple yet, but they were well on their way to becoming one. Not only that, but Emma felt comfortable for the first time that she could remember. She felt comfortable with who she was and she didn't care what anyone else thought, because she had Regina and she had her son, and she was happy. And that was all that mattered.

. . .


End file.
